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<h1>Desire and Suggestions</h1>

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<div class="outline">
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<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1">How to get your way in Japan</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2">Verbs you want to do with 「たい」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3">Indicating things you want or want done using 「<span title="ほしい - wanted, desirable" class="popup">欲しい</span>」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4">Making a motion to do something using the volitional form (casual)</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5">Making a motion to do something using the volitional form (polite)</a></li>
<li><a href="#part6">Making Suggestions using the 「ば」 or 「たら」 conditional</a></li>
</ol>
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</td></tr>
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<h2 id="part1">How to get your way in Japan</h2>
We will now learn how to say what you want either by just coming out and saying it or by making discreet suggestions.  The major
topics we will cover will be the 「たい」 conjugation and the volitional form.  We will also learn specialized uses of the 「たら」 and 「ば」 conditionals to
offer advice.

<h2 id="part2">Verbs you want to do with 「たい」</h2>
You can express verbs that you <i>want</i> to perform with the 「たい」 form.  All you need to do is add 「たい」 to the <a href="polite.html#part2">stem of the verb</a>.
However, unlike most conjugations we learned where the verb turns into a ru-verb, this form actually transforms the verb into an i-adjective
(notice how 「たい」 conveniently ends in 「い」).  This makes sense because the conjugated form is a description of something that you
want to do.  Once you have the 「たい」 form, you can then conjugate it the same as you would any other i-adjective.  However, the 「たい」 form
is different from regular i-adjectives because it is derived from a verb.  This means that all the particles we normally associate with verbs such as
「を」、「に」、「へ」、or 「で」 can all be used with the 「たい」 form, which is not true for regular i-adjectives.  Here's a chart just for you.
<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>「たい」 conjugations</caption>
<tr align="center"><th></th><th>Positive</th><th>Negative</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Non-Past</th><td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きたい</span></td><td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きたくない</span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きたかった</span></td><td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きたくなかった</span></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">したい</span></em>ですか。
<br />- What do you want to do?
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="おんせん - hotspring" class="popup">温泉</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きたい</span></em>。
<br />- I want to go to hot spring.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="ケーキ - cake" class="popup">ケーキ</span>、<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べたくない</span></em>の？
<br />- You don't want to eat cake?
</p>
<p>
（４）　<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べたくなかった</span></em>けど<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べたくなった</span></em>。
<br />- I didn't want to eat it but I became wanting to eat.
</p>

<p>Example （４） was very awkward to translate but is quite simple in Japanese if you refer to "<a href="surunaru.html#part3">Using 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 with i-adjectives</a>".
The past tense of the verb 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 was used to create "became want to eat".  Here's a tongue twister using the
negative 「～たくない」 and past-tense of 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」： 「<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べたくなくなった</span>」 meaning "became not wanting to eat".
</p>

<p>This may seem obvious but 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」 cannot have a 「たい」 form because inanimate objects cannot want anything.  However, 「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>」 can be used with
the 「たい」 form in examples like the one below.
</p>

<p>
（５）　<span title="ずっと - long time" class="popup">ずっと</span><span title="いっしょ - together" class="popup">一緒</span>に<em><span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いたい</span></em>。
<br />- I want to be together forever. (lit: Want to exist together for long time.)
</p>

<p>Also, you can only use the 「たい」 form for the first-person because you cannot read other people's mind to see what
they want to do.  For referring to anyone beside yourself, it is normal to use expressions such as, "I think he wants to..." or "She said that she wants to..."
We will learn how to say such expressions in a <a href="quotation.html#part3">later lesson</a>.  Of course, if you're asking a question,
you can just use the 「たい」 form because you're not presuming to know anything.

<p>
（６）　<span title="いぬ - dog" class="popup">犬</span>と<em><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊びたい</span></em>ですか。
<br />- Do you want to play with dog?
</p>

<h2 id="part3">Indicating things you want or want done using 「<span title="ほしい - wanted, desirable" class="popup">欲しい</span>」</h2>
In English, we employ a verb to say that we want something.  In Japanese, "to want" is actually an i-adjective and not a verb.  We saw something similar
with 「<span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>」 which is an adjective while "to like" in English is a verb.  While I didn't get too much into the workings of 「<span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>」, I have dedicated
a whole section to 「<span title="ほしい - wanted, desirable" class="popup">欲しい</span>」 because it means, "to want something done" when combined with the te-form of a verb.  We will learn a more
polite and appropriate way to make requests in the <a href="requests.html">"Making Requests"</a> lesson instead of saying, "I want this done."

<p>
Though not a set rule, whenever words come
attached to the te-form of a verb to serve a special grammatical function, it is customary to write it in hiragana.  This is because kanji is already
used for the verb and the attached word becomes part of that verb.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="おおきい - big" class="popup">大きい</span><span title="ぬいぐるみ - stuffed doll" class="popup">縫いぐるみ</span>が<em><span title="ほしい - wanted, desirable" class="popup">欲しい</span></em>！
<br />- I want a big stuffed doll!
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べて</span><span title="ほしい - wanted, desirable" class="popup">ほしい</span></em>んだけど・・・。
<br />- I want it all eaten but...
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span>を<span title="きれい - neat, pretty" class="popup">きれい</span>に<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span><span title="ほしい - wanted, desirable" class="popup">ほしい</span></em>のよ。
<br />- It is that I want the room cleaned up, you know.
</p>

<p>Like I mentioned, there are more appropriate ways to ask for things which we won't go into <a href="requests.html">until later</a>.  This grammar is not used too often but
is included for completeness.
</p>

<h2 id="part4">Making a motion to do something using the volitional form (casual)</h2>
The term volitional here means a will to do something.  In other words, the volitional form indicates that someone is setting out to do something.
In the most common example, this simply translates into the English "let's" or "shall we?" but we'll also see how this form can be used to express an effort to do something in a <a href="try.html#part3">lesson further along</a>.
<p>To conjugate verbs into the volitional form for casual speech, there are two different rules for ru-verbs and u-verbs.  For ru-verbs, you simply
remove the 「る」 and add 「よう」.  For u-verbs, you replace the / u / vowel sound with the / o / vowel sound and add 「う」.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Conjugations rules for the casual volitional form</span>
<ul>
<li>For ru-verbs: Remove the 「る」 and add 「よう」
<br />例） <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span> + <em>よう</em> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べよう</span></li>
<li>For u-verbs: Replace the / u / vowel sound with the / o / vowel sound and add 「う」
<br />例） <span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入<em>ろ</em></span> + <em>う</em> → <span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入ろう</span></li>
</ul>
</div>

<center>Here is a list of verbs you should be used to seeing by now.</center>

<table align="center" border="0">
<tr>
<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample ru-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Volitional</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しらべる - to investigate" class="popup">調べ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="しらべる - to investigate" class="popup">調べ<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>


<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>

<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample u-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Volitional</th>
<th>ローマ字</th><th>ローマ字 (Vol.)</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>す</em></span></td><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>そう</em></span></td>
<td>hanas<em>u</em></td><td>hanas<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きく - to hear, to ask" class="popup">聞<em>く</em></span></td><td><span title="きく - to hear, to ask" class="popup">聞<em>こう</em></span></td>
<td>kik<em>u</em></td><td>kik<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="およぐ - to swim" class="popup">泳<em>ぐ</em></span></td><td><span title="およぐ - to swim" class="popup">泳<em>ごう</em></span></td>
<td>oyog<em>u</em></td><td>oyog<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>ぶ</em></span></td><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>ぼう</em></span></td>
<td>asob<em>u</em></td><td>asob<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>つ</em></span></td><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>とう</em></span></td>
<td>mat<em>u</em></td><td>mat<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>む</em></span></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>もう</em></span></td>
<td>nom<em>u</em></td><td>nom<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="なおる - to be fixed" class="popup">直<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="なおる - to be fixed" class="popup">直<em>ろう</em></span></td><td>naor<em>u</em></td>
<td>naor<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死<em>ぬ</em></span></td><td><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死<em>のう</em></span></td><td>shin<em>u</em></td>
<td>shin<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買<em>う</em></span></td><td><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買<em>おう</em></span></td><td>ka<em>u</em></td>
<td>ka<em>ou</em></td></tr>

</table>
</td>

<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>


<td valign="top">
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Exception Verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Volitional</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></td><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しよう</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span></td><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こよう</span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h3>Examples</h3>
I doubt you will ever use 「<span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死のう</span>」 (let's die) but I left it in for completeness.  Here are some more realistic examples.

<p>
（１）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しよう</span></em>か？
<br />- What shall [we] do today?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="テーマパーク - theme park" class="popup">テーマパーク</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行こう</span></em>！
<br />- Let's go to theme park!
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>は<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べよう</span></em>か？
<br />- What shall [we] eat tomorrow?
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="カレー - curry" class="popup">カレー</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べよう</span></em>！
<br />- Let's eat curry!
</p>

<p>Remember, since you're setting out to do something, it doesn't make sense to have this verb in the past tense.  Therefore, there is only one
tense and if you were to replace 「<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>」 in （３） with, for example, 「<span title="きのう - yesterday" class="popup">昨日</span>」 then the sentence would make no sense.
</p>

<h2 id="part5">Making a motion to do something using the volitional form (polite)</h2>
The conjugation for the polite form is even simpler.  All you have
to do is add 「～ましょう」 to the stem of the verb.  Similar to the masu-form, verbs in this form must always come at the end of the sentence.  In
fact, all polite endings must always come at the end and nowhere else as we've <a href="polite.html#part3">already seen</a>.


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Conjugations rules for the polite volitional form</span>
<ul>
<li>For all verbs: Add 「～ましょう」 to the <a href="polite.html#part2">stem of the verb</a>
<br />例） <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span> + <em>ましょう</em> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べましょう</span>
<br />例） <span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入<em>り</em></span> + <em>ましょう</em> → <span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入りましょう</span></li>
</ul>
</div>

<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Volitional</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></td><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">し<em>ましょう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span></td><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">き<em>ましょう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝る</span></td><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>ましょう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span></td><td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行き<em>ましょう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊ぶ</span></td><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊び<em>ましょう</em></span></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<h3>Examples</h3>
Again, there's nothing new here, just the polite version of the volitional form.

<p>
（１）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しましょう</span></em>か？
<br />- What shall [we] do today?
<p>
</p>
（２）　<span title="テーマパーク - theme park" class="popup">テーマパーク</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きましょう</span></em>
<br />- Let's go to theme park!
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>は<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べましょう</span></em>か？
<br />- What shall [we] eat tomorrow?
</p>
<p>
（４）　<span title="カレー - curry" class="popup">カレー</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べましょう</span></em>
<br />- Let's eat curry!
</p>

<h2 id="part6">Making Suggestions using the 「ば」 or 「たら」 conditional</h2>
You can make suggestions by using the 「ば」 or 「たら」 conditional and adding 「<span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span>」.  This literally means, "If you do [X], how is it?"  In English,
this would become, "How about doing [X]?"  Grammatically, there's nothing new here but it is a commonly used set phrase.
<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="ぎんこう - bank" class="popup">銀行</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行ったら</span><span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span></em>ですか。
<br />- How about going to bank?
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="たまに - once in a while" class="popup">たまに</span>ご<span title="りょうしん - parents" class="popup">両親</span>と<em><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話せば</span><span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span></em>？
<br />- How about talking with your parents once in a while?
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/3/26</pre></div>

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